


fireflies

by waterlit



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, old fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 09:13:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9812744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterlit/pseuds/waterlit
Summary: Kagome and friends chanced upon a cloud of fireflies by night. What Kagome didn't know was that fireflies were a symbol of love.





	

The red dusk burned to a cool night, and the black winds cast chilling spells over the dipping hollows and the living dells of Edo. Glimmering fireflies emerged from their hidden homes, and flew over the sloping plateaus, passing the travellers by.

Kagome was the first to see them. "Look! Fireflies! They're so pretty!"

"Indeed. They are as beautiful as Sango herself," Miroku agreed, earning himself a good tight slap from Sango.

Inuyasha merely snorted contemptuously, white hair flying in the wind. Fireflies or no fireflies, he wanted to get some well-earned rest. It was thus to Kagome's detriment when she walked over to Inuyasha and gave him her best puppy eyes.

"Get away from me," Inuyasha said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not going to chase after some silly fireflies for you. Now leave me alone. I want to sleep."

"Inuyasha. SIT!"

And so Inuyasha found himself kissing dirt, with the echos of frog-prints and the taste of soil in his mouth. _Lovely_. Grumbling and cursing fit to exasperate patience herself, he followed after Kagome. Soon they came to the grove where the fireflies danced in all their lighted glory. Kagome herself twirled after them, dancing along. Inuyasha, meanwhile, had found himself a mossy spot on which to perch till the human had enough of this madness.

Now, sitting being an extremely passive activity, soon Inuyasha found that his eyes were drawn to Kagome's fluid movements. Crossing his arms and legs, he stared at Kagome through narrowed eyes. What exactly did Kagome think she was doing? Whoever heard of such a thing as dancing with fireflies? _People from the future have strange habits_ , he reflected sagely. He decided to close both eyes.

All of a sudden he smelled Kagome right in front of him. She was crouching next to him, hands outspread. In her hands were fluttering a dozen or so fireflies, all staring at him with their large opalescent eyes. He blinked. And what did Kagome think she was doing, making him stare at these awful creatures? They stared at him with knowing expressions on their flat faces, looking as if they were able to read his mind. He frowned. And that firefly over there—it was positively infuriating. It just stared at him as if he were a criminal. He wasn't having any of that from a firefly.

"Ooooh look, Inuyasha, aren't they so pretty," Kagome said.

He glared at her.

With a sudden swift movement she poured all the fireflies into the red cloth covering his lap. Down they went, buzzing, blending in with his red robes like light shaded by the soft downy cover of a lantern.

"Do you know, Inuyasha, fireflies are said to be the souls of those who have died. Don't ignore them. Who knows, your mother could once have been a firefly too. Treat them with respect. They are things shrouded in mystery, and a half-demon such as you are should know that the spirit world isn't to be meddled with." Kagome concluded her lecture rather breathlessly, pleased with her memory—her grandfather often spoke of fireflies in a reverent tone.

Inuyasha merely stared, but he did not sweep the fireflies off his lap.

* * *

"Think we should tell them that fireflies are also symbols of love?" Sango asked Miroku rather curiously.

Turning to her in the shadow of the large pine tree, Miroku's eyes sparkled in the dim starlight. "No, of course not. We'd interrupt their time together."

"But—"

"Inuyasha! What do you think you're doing!"

"You pulled my hair, you wretch!"

"Look, Lord Monk. They've interrupted themselves. And fireflies are symbols of love. How ironic."

That night, as the travellers settled into sleep, the fireflies flew back to their mountain homes. No one saw it, but two fireflies separated from the group. One lay beside Inuyasha, and the other beside Kagome.

**Author's Note:**

> First posted on FFN in Oct 2009. Written when I really enjoyed the fluff genre.


End file.
